Hello! It's me again. It's been approximately 70 days since the last time I wrote for GolaTV. During that period, I have tried to write plenty of times, failing and abandoning an essay midway each time. This essay is a deliberate attempt to step out of that maze. Let's hope it goes well!
Without wasting time I'd like to introduce you to the topic at hand today.
Some time back, Joel wrote an essay titled what should we expect from head coaches replying to an earlier piece by MRKT insights, a football consultation firm providing data-driven insights. A chain of thought in response to some of Joel's arguments spiked one important matter. Simply, that
variety, not versatility, is imperative for head coaches. And really, anyone seriously indulging in football.
Questions on the importance of head coaches pry us to describe their main roles and, in the end, suggest the best possible pathway for them to undertake their tasks.
It is established that coaches, among other sports professionals, need to evolve and adapt. What is not established is the extent that will effectively enable transitioning to present requisites while holding on to core principles. The answer: variety [not versatility].
Extrapolating this to the game, everyone involved needs to adapt and, consequently, evolve. Diversity is a leeway towards this.
Variety has earned my approval, and I have elevated it to a core principle governing all processes.
In this essay, we'll (try to) definitively elaborate the concept of variety, its importance, and briefly showcase how it manifests in the game. Coaches will be regarded as a prime example throughout this essay.
The base.
Through an array of methodologies in training athletes and implementing theories, coaches have continuously developed significant margins as hallmarks for their work. Similarly, players who can operate in various positions prove more valuable in the eyes of coaches, scouts and analysts. These two timid examples are testament to why we should probe variety and its effect in football.
This can be taken even further to the contrasting principles birthing the relationism vs positionism debate, the recruitment of different player profiles under similar positions at clubs and even mastering different techniques for athletes.
The more, the better, right? Not quite.
Variety needs quality.
Qualification is the single most important determining factor for scalability when dealing with the concept of variety. To abstain from mere obesity stemming from accumulation of inactionable garbage labelled as insights, one should always question:
what should I take?
is this actionable? and where?
what is the return-value?
Why variety and not versatility?
Principles. Core principles.
Football, or any domain, even life, requires a set of rules that ordain a path to be followed. These do not change.
While versatility is important as a sub-principle, it fails in the quest to be elevated to a core principle because it reasons for a form of [sometimes molecular] structural and/or compositional deference. Were we to elevate versatility to a core principle, the consequences would see us require new or amended principles every obscure encounter.
Variety offers standardization.
Variety in professional football.
Let's look at this from a wider perspective.
The main epistemic question every up-and-coming head coach asks themselves is how do I want to play the game? Hoping that the answer(s) climax at a revelation of ideas and beliefs that with time and justification will become core principles.
The same premises led to the eruption of relationist and positionist concepts. Inherently, these two views stir aspirations among (some) enthusiasts and professionals to delve deeper in search of the truth.
On the relationism vs positionism debate:
In-game tactics aim to constantly provide superiorities, that is, numerical superiorities, positional superiorities and qualitative superiorities. Qualitative superiorities, arguably, being the most apt. One counter measure trainers have taken is to change their regimes into those that offer a base for players to develop attributes enabling them to play multiple positions. Variety.
In an effort to maximize their squad's strengths, mask their weaknesses, exploit the opposition's weaknesses and minimize opposition strength, coaches employ tactics. To practice their theories, tactics are drawn into simple representations named formations. And [the best] coaches have multiple formations that align with their theories. Again variety.
Variety and psychology.
Diversity enables us to tackle setbacks from a set of angles, all of which are comfortable and align with principles. Note that I've mentioned comfortability.
Ultimately, variety provides domain experts confidence in their processes and in turn, leverages their belief to abide by their principles.
Players might feel invigorated by a diverse approach or style within practices and matches. The return is that this perpetual sense of wealth in approaches, boosts morale and fosters motivation.
How much variety is too much variety?
The answer, of course, is balance. I've written about balance before.
It is with high regard and reason that I take balance to be the most important principle not only in football but life as well.
However, the sufficiency is still unclear to me. I am still dawdling over the cutoff point, if there's any.
PS: this essay is not a finished article and was written in an intense 4-hour sprint with no rest in between.
Who is the writer?
Luqman A. Kabange is a student at Kibaha College Of Health And Allied Sciences (KCOHAS), Pwani, Tanzania, where he studies Clinical Medicine.
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